


Arthur's Smile

by darlinghoots



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Don't Even Know, M/M, One Shot, cute little oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-12
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-11-25 04:56:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/635334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlinghoots/pseuds/darlinghoots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur has smiled at everyone but Eames.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur's Smile

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the first stories that I ever wrote. I have posted this on ff.net but I got an account on here so I might be posting more on here. So, yeah. Enjoy.  
> I don't own Inception or any of the characters.

 

Eames sat in the warehouse holding his notebook on his lap and his pen in his mouth. He was supposed to be working on ideas for a forge and looking over his notes on the person he was going to forge. This was one of his first jobs since they had performed inception. He was doing a simple job with Ariadne and Arthur.

 

But he wasn’t focused on his forging. No, his eyes had slowly gravitated to that of Arthur.

 

Arthur was standing at the other side of the warehouse, working on an old PASIV device.

 

He was dressed in nice khaki pants that clung to him in all the right places, a white button down shirt and a simple black sweater over it. And his hair was gelled back to perfection like always.

 

In other words, Arthur looked like the definition of perfection.  At least he looked that way in Eames’ eyes.

 

Although, Arthur would look even more perfect if he would smile more often. And not those fake smiles that he passes off all the time in dreams and to the mark and their employers.

 

A genuine smile. A smile that when it appears you know that Arthur is actually and truly happy at that exact moment.

 

Eames has seen Arthur smile like this a total of five times.

 

And none of those times the smile was directed at him.

 

It made Eames quite mad. Eames could make anyone smile by just simply smiling at them or telling them one of his jokes. It was in his personality. Everyone smiled around Eames. But not Arthur. No, Arthur always tried his hardest to not smile around him. It was like Eames had no effect on him whatsoever.

 

Eames had known Arthur for almost ten years now. He had worked with him, stayed in the same hotel room as him, and there was even a time where they had to share a bed. That night was one of Eames’ favorites.

 

Of course nothing happened, but just laying there next to him, watching him sleep was enough. Arthur looked so different when he slept. He looked so much younger and innocent and vulnerable. Eames wished that he could wake up to that every morning.

 

Eames liked to think that he knew Arthur pretty well, but in actuality, he didn’t know anything about Arthur, just like Arthur didn’t know anything about him. Eames spit out lies like it was first nature to him, and most likely Arthur did the same.

 

It was all part of the job.

 

So one smile from Arthur would probably make Eames’ whole world, and probably give him a heart attack and kill him if it were to happen.

 

One smile was not too much to ask for, is it?

* * *

 

_Mal_

The first time Eames saw Arthur’s smile was with Mal.

 

This was his third job with Arthur and Mal was pregnant with Phillipa at the time. That was why Eames was there. Mal wasn’t going under so they needed Eames to help out with some of the designs and to forge, of course. And Eames liked Dom and Mal so of course he would do this. Arthur being there was just a bonus.

 

Eames was standing over by Cobb going over his layer of the dream and trying to find ways to add a short cut in. He always had one in his mazes. Dom usually never objected to it. It made things simpler for Eames just in case something goes wrong. You always need to have a back-up plan. Eames had done too many jobs that have gone wrong so now he always has a short-cut.

 

Cobb was mumbling something and Eames was sure it had something to do with the baby. Dom had sort of been out of it today thinking about all things baby. It was enough to almost drive Eames insane. Mal was one thing, but when it crossed over to Dom, one would think that Dom was having the baby.

 

He looked up when he heard Mal laugh. He saw Arthur walk over to her. She smiled over at him then grabbed his hand and forced him over to her. Eames saw her mouth something that looked like ‘feel’ but he couldn’t be too sure.

 

Mal placed Arthur’s hand on her belly. Eames couldn’t help but smile at Arthur’s look of pure confusion. Arthur looked so young and vulnerable at that moment. It was very unlike Arthur. It was the unprofessional Arthur.

 

“Did you feel it?” Mal asked louder. Eames looked over as a small smile formed on Arthur’s face. Eames saw Arthur’s dimples and he looked like he was in Heaven.

 

Eames’ breath got caught in his throat and his heart felt like it had done a thousand back flips. He was at a loss of words to explain this moment.

 

Arthur’s smile was the most beautiful thing Eames had ever seen. Eames wanted to see that smile a million times every day, it was that amazing.

 

And at that moment, Eames knew that he was in love with Arthur.

* * *

 

_Dom_

The second time Eames had seen Arthur release a smile was with Dom.

 

Eames was sitting in his chair looking over his notes when Dom walked in. This was just a simple job in LA since Mal was at home taking care of Phillipa and Dom wanted to be close by, just in case.

 

Eames looked up and saw that Dom looked like an absolute mess. His hair was all messed up and sticking up. He was in a pair of jeans that Eames was sure had baby vomit on it and his t-shirt was inside out.

 

“Rough night?” Eames asked with a smirk as he leaned back in his chair more. Dom ran a hand through his hair.

 

“She won’t stop crying.” Dom said quietly. He did look exhausted. Eames felt a little sorry for him but ignored it because he asked for this by getting Mal pregnant.

 

“Last I checked that was what babies do.” Dom gave him a small glare and Eames just chuckled. He then turned his attention back to his notes. He was a little behind so he didn’t need to be distracted by Dom’s misfortune.

 

Of course he was distracted again when he heard footsteps. When he looked up, Arthur was standing in front of Dom. Dom was laughing and Arthur was smiling. Eames dropped his pen in shock at first. But then a small smile slowly spread to his face. Arthur’s dimples were just so damn contagious.

 

Somehow though, Eames felt like he was intruding on the moment so he looked away and gave a small sigh.

 

Oh Eames would give anything to have Arthur look at him like that, just once.

* * *

 

_Yusuf_

Arthur’s smile went into hiding after that. Eames didn’t do that many jobs with them because Mal had James shortly after and they put their work on hold for a bit. And then there was no reason to smile when Mal died.

 

Eames knew that Arthur had been traveling with Dom, since Dom couldn’t go back to the States, not even to see his kids.

 

Eames did a few jobs with them, but not too much. He hated seeing Arthur and Dom like this. It was rather depressing.

 

Of course, then came the Fischer job.

 

That was when the third smile came.

 

“I want to test this sedative.” Arthur said as he walked over to where Eames and Yusuf were standing. Eames looked over as Arthur pulled up his shirt sleeve.

 

“You don’t trust that I would pick a good chemist?” Eames said with a smirk as he crossed his arms. “Arthur, I am hurt.” Arthur glanced over at him. He was clearly not amused by Eames’ words.

 

“Dom was telling me about the sedative and I want to try it out. See how it works for myself.”

 

“Ah, so you do trust me?” Eames said with another smirk. Arthur just glanced at him as he sat down on the chair.

 

“I never said that Mr. Eames.” Eames’ smirk fell from his face. He knew that Arthur was joking but it sort of hurt hearing it from him.

 

Eames would trust Arthur with his life. He did almost with every job they did. But the small idea that Arthur may not trust him hurt.

 

Yusuf then walked over and handed Arthur the needle. Arthur stuck the needle in quite elegantly. Eames had been doing this for a long time now and he still couldn’t do the needle part right and Arthur could do it like it was a piece of cake. Yusuf then pushed the button, sending Arthur under.

 

After a few moments, Yusuf walked over and slapped Arthur. Nothing.

 

Eames just stood there and smiled. Before long, Yusuf was pushing Arthur over onto a small pile of pillows.

 

Eames couldn’t hold back the small laugh that escaped him as Arthur reached out when he realized that he was falling.

 

Arthur demanded to do a second trial. This time Dom came over and watched.

 

When Arthur pulled himself from the floor the second time, he walked over to Yusuf.

 

Eames couldn’t really hear what they were saying, but Yusuf let out a little laugh and Arthur smiled.

 

Again.

 

Really? Yusuf could make him smile. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? This was getting out of control and absurd. Yusuf barely knew Arthur and yet he could get a smile out of the point man.

 

Eames sighed and walked away towards his station. He tried not to stomp and make it look like he was mad. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. But he was positive that he failed.

 

He grabbed a PASIV device and stuck the needle in as he sat down on a chair. He needed to work on his forge anyways.

* * *

 

_Saito_

When Arthur smiled at Saito, he almost shot him.

 

Eames almost would have missed it, but he happened to glance over at Arthur (like he always did) and he saw him smiling at Saito.

 

And Saito was smiling back. The nerve of him!

 

Saito was the tourist, not someone to be smiling at. Yusuf was one thing because Eames actually liked Yusuf, but Saito. This was not funny whatsoever.

 

Eames gave a small grunt and went outside to smoke. He knew he sort of stomped out and he knew that they were looking at him, but really, this was getting ridiculous.

* * *

 

_Ariadne_

With Ariadne, it was the worse. Eames had a feeling that Arthur may have had a small crush on Ariadne. This small fact was why Eames had never really pursued his interests in Arthur. He had no idea if Arthur was straight or not.

 

Eames was practicing Browning’s movements in the mirror when he saw Arthur in the mirror. Eames froze and watched him.

 

Arthur walked over to Ariadne. She smiled at him as she lifted up her model for him to examine.

 

Arthur examined it for a few moments before pointing to a few spots and saying something that Eames couldn’t hear. Arthur then leaned down and whispered something in her ear with a smirk on his lips. It was the flirtiest gesture he had ever seen Arthur do.

 

Ariadne smiled back, and laughed. Oh she laughed and that made it worse. Arthur was being funny with her too. God, why did life hate him so much!

 

She looked up at him and whispered something back to him in his ear. Seriously, did they have flirt in front of him? They could flirt in private somewhere so Eames didn’t have to see it.

 

And Arthur smiled down at her.

 

Eames gripped the desk to keep him there and not running over there and hitting someone. He could have sworn that he and Arthur were friends. Eames had smiled at Arthur so many times that he couldn’t keep track of them all. But maybe Eames was wrong. It was never Arthur who asked him onto a job. It was always Dom.

 

He let out a sigh and slammed the glasses on the desk.

 

He turned around and found Arthur and Ariadne looking at him with confused looks. He must have slammed the glasses down a little harder than he thought.

 

Eames reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth as he started walking away.

 

“I’m going out for a smoke.” Eames hissed out as he walked across the warehouse and out the door, letting it slam shut.

 

He didn’t care if he was acting like a five year old. He was mad and hurt and he wanted them to know it.

* * *

 

“Eames?” Eames was thrown out of his thoughts by Ariadne’s voice.

 

“Yes?” He asked.

 

“Is something wrong?”

 

“No. Why would you ask that?”

 

“You look like a kid who had his favorite toy taken away.” Eames almost laughed. That was exactly how he felt.

 

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking.”

 

“About what?” Ariadne asked with a smile. She wasn’t trying to pry, he knew that. She was just concerned.

 

“Nothing important.” Eames said easily. Hopefully she would get the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it.

 

“What are you drawing?” She asked, leaning over a bit more. Eames pulled the notebook away so she wouldn’t see.

 

“Eames is drawing?” Eames froze at Arthur’s voice. Eames looked over and saw Arthur walking over to them. Great. He didn’t want Arthur over here either.

 

“It’s nothing, just doodles.” Eames said, trying to get them to back off. He did not want anyone to see this notebook.

 

Inside were random doodles that mostly consisted of Arthur. Today’s picture was Arthur smiling. He had it memorized by now that he didn’t even need to see it to draw it. It all came naturally to him. Some other drawings were of Arthur when he was sleeping with the PASIV device and just Arthur sitting there. There were even some of just parts of Arthur, like his eyes or his hands. He didn’t want anyone to see these because then it made him look like a stalker.

 

“Come on, I want to see one.” Ariadne pleaded. Eames stood up.

 

“Me too.” Arthur piped in. “We have worked together for almost ten years and I have never seen your work. In reality, I mean.”

 

Well, Eames has never been smiled at by him so he thought they were pretty even.

 

“Look, I….” He started but he felt his notebook being taken away from him.

 

Ariadne took a few steps back and flipped through the pages with a smile on her face.

 

Eames sighed and ran a hand over his face. Arthur was just looking at Ariadne. From his position he couldn’t see the notebook. Eames glanced over and saw Ariadne’s face fall.

 

“Oh.” She said quietly. She looked up at him and she gave him a look of absolute pity. “Oh Eames…” She whispered out.

 

“Now I’m really curious.” Arthur walked over and grabbed the notebook. Eames tried to move to take it away from him but it was too late. Arthur just flipped through the pages, no reaction whatsoever on his face.

 

Eames could see that Arthur stopped at the page of him smiling. Arthur then looked up and his eyes met Eames’.

 

“Arthur…” Eames started but Arthur interrupted.

 

“What is this?” Arthur hissed out. Eames took a step back. He was not expecting that tone. Arthur sounded mad. Well, not mad, furious.

 

“It is nothing.”

 

“Eames, don’t lie. My face is all over these pages. For god’s sake, you even have me sleeping in here.”

 

“Fine!” Eames shouted. “I will tell you the truth. I love you Arthur. I have for a while now.” Arthur’s eyes widened. Ariadne just remained quiet. “And the one thing I wanted most from you was to see you bloody smile at me just once. To know that you actually care about me somewhat as a friend or to show me that you approve of something I did. But I guess I am not good enough for an Arthur smile even though we have known each other for ten fucking years!” Eames took a deep breath. “Sometimes I wonder if we really are friends.” Arthur was still and just stared back at him.

 

Ariadne was wide-eyed now. Eames ran a hand over his face and sighed.

 

“I quit this job. I am sick of this shit.” Eames stuttered out. He was shaking and he was sure that he was crying, but he didn’t care, not at this moment.

 

He walked out of the warehouse and went back to his hotel. He wanted to get away from all of this as soon as possible.

* * *

 

Well, things didn’t really go as well as Eames would have liked.

 

Eames had gone to Prague and well, he was found and kidnapped by people whom he had worked for and the job had gone bad. They tortured him and almost killed him.

 

Of course Eames had gone through this before so really, it was nothing new, but this time it was bad. It had never gotten this bad before.

 

But somehow, luck was on his side and he was able to escape.

 

He made it to a safe place and called Cobb. He shouldn’t have but he was the only one who he could think of at the moment. He told Cobb everything and asked if he could help.

 

And Cobb did. Somehow, he did. Eames didn’t question it, but he was sure it had something to do with the fact that Cobb owed all of them for the Fischer job.

 

So, now Eames found himself walking through the airport.

 

His face was bruised and he was sort of limping and he was sure he was getting a lot of strange looks but he didn’t care.

 

He was almost out of the airport when he stopped.

 

There, standing by the doors, was Arthur. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and his hair was a mess.

 

And he looked worried.

 

Eames just stared at him. This was quite unexpected. He reached into his pocket and thumbed over his totem to make sure this was real and he wasn’t dreaming again.

 

Then Arthur saw him.

 

Eames stayed rooted in his spot. He didn’t know how Arthur would react. So he waited. He didn’t know why Arthur was even here to begin with.

 

Arthur then smiled. His real genuine smile.

 

Eames felt his heart jump and he was sure he dropped his bag. Arthur was smiling at him. He had waited years for this exact moment and now he didn’t know what to do. He almost wanted to cry.

 

So he did what his instincts were telling him to do, he smiled back. It was painful, but worth it.

 

Arthur slowly walked over to him.

 

“Arthur.” Eames whispered out, his smile growing. “This is quite a surprise.”

 

“I had to see for myself that you were really okay. I didn’t trust Cobb on something like this.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“Because I am in love with you.” Eames’ heart jumped again as Arthur leaned forward and planted a small kiss on his lips. Arthur pulled away and grabbed Eames’ hand. “Shall we go home?” Eames smiled as they started walking away.

 

Today was probably the greatest day of his life.


End file.
